The partially collapsed buidings at 17b Chestnut St. that was a former tie factory on Wednesday December 6, 2017 in Norwalk Conn. President Ernie Dumas and his group, South Norwalk Citizens for Justice hope for city officials to enforce codes to clean up the property. less

The partially collapsed buidings at 17b Chestnut St. that was a former tie factory on Wednesday December 6, 2017 in Norwalk Conn. President Ernie Dumas and his group, South Norwalk Citizens for Justice hope for ... more

The partially collapsed buidings at 17b Chestnut St. that was a former tie factory on Wednesday December 6, 2017 in Norwalk Conn. President Ernie Dumas and his group, South Norwalk Citizens for Justice hope for city officials to enforce codes to clean up the property. less

The partially collapsed buidings at 17b Chestnut St. that was a former tie factory on Wednesday December 6, 2017 in Norwalk Conn. President Ernie Dumas and his group, South Norwalk Citizens for Justice hope for ... more

South Norwalk group asks why asbestos cleanup, demolition took so long to start

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NORWALK — As men in white protective suits worked inside a building that had begun to cave in on Chestnut Street, Diane Lauricella and Ernie Dumas, of the South Norwalk Citizens for Justice, gathered outside overgrown property to air concerns Wednesday afternoon.

Lauricella pointed to an asbestos abatement project design for the state Department of Health released in July 2015. The report recommended the vacant industrial site where neckties were once stored be demolished by licensed asbestos abatement workers and supervisors on site, and that all people in the work areas wear disposable clothing and respirators.

“The building is currently under a notice to demolish by the city of Norwalk and has been deemed unsafe for occupancy,” she said.

Two-and-a-half years later, the same asbestos abatement project design has been resubmitted, and the permits to begin the process of removing the building has begun.

“We want an investigation as to how this happened, and why it took so long,” Lauricella said. “What we would like to explore in a meeting is what fines should this company have for the length of time they were allowed to let this dangerous building languish?”

However, others say the problem is safely being taken care of.

Both Keith Brown (a managing member of Sono Metro LLC, which owns the property) and William Ireland, Norwalk’s chief building official, said abatement and demolition are underway. Brown estimated the asbestos abatement would take a week or two and demolition would be completed two weeks afterward.

“We are working with the town,” Brown said. He added the Big East Environmental, an environmental consulting firm, had procured the necessary permits from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and would have a licensed project manager on site to monitor air quality throughout the process.

“No, it hasn’t been delayed,” Ireland said.

He said the state handles the abatement process, not the city, and the owner had responded immediately after the condemnation board hearing in September of this year.

One state permit required to demolish a building with asbestos is a Alternate Work Practice, which must be mailed with a $200 fee to the Connecticut Department of Health. Big East Environmental, which helped acquire the permit, said the project received a permit in 2015, but it expired after one year. The project designer filed for a new permit on Sept. 8, 2017.

“As for why it sat so long — that part, we don’t know,” said Steve DiNapoli, a company representative. However, he said the time the building has remained intact has not posed a health threat to neighbors because most of the asbestos are contained in the roofing.

“You’d have to tear it, grind it up, for that to get in the air,” DiNapoli said. “That type of roofing, flat membrane roofing, is relatively stable.”

Lauricella, a consultant for South Norwalk Citizens of Justice, passed out packets including emails that the group has sent Mayor Harry Rilling voicing concerns about the building. Rilling did not respond in time to comment.

Lauricella said the problem was greater than asbestos or buckling walls. “The main issue is the enforcement system in this city is broken when it comes to violations.”

She pointed to the asbestos abatement project design, which described the building as “in poor condition due to a partial roof collapse” with several areas “unsafe to enter.” Buildings lacking adequate maintenance are against Norwalk’s city code and can in warnings, citations, hearings, fines and abatement by the city.

“There was no reason for this to occur other than that it was in South Norwalk. If it were in Cranbury, East Norwalk, Rowayton, it would be down by now. And we just want fair enforcement,” Lauricella said.

A neighbor who lived caddycorner from the site, Sammy Ward, who was also a member of South Norwalk Citizens for Justice, agreed. “It diminishes our quality of life — it’s not right,” he said. “It diminishes our property values. ... The only thing we’re fighting for is equality, like everyone else.”